Jul 11, 2014

Hard Drive Not Spin WD Blue Scorpio

Hard Drive Does Not Spin Up

One of the more commonly encountered hard drive failure
symptoms is when the hard drive does not spin-up after power is applied
(that is to say that the data platters inside the drive are not being
spun). Typically the hard drive can appear to be completely dead or it
may be that a high-pitched beeping sound is heard and repeated every 1
to 2 seconds as the drive attempts but fails to spin the data platters
inside its chassis.

What causes Hard Drive Failure of the No Spin up Variety?

There are typically three basic causes for a hard drive failing to spin up. These are:

Electrical damage to the printed circuit board (PCB).

The seizure of the data platter motor.

The read/write heads which normally float above the surface of the
data platters crash into and subsequently adhere to the platters
themselves preventing them from spinning.

In the case of the hard drive failure being due to a damaged PCB you
will typically find that on application of power there is no sign of
life whatever from the hard drive. In contrast the last two of the
causes listed above for a hard drive failure will result in the hard
drive making an attempt to spin the platters. This will typically be
manifested as a slight pulse felt through the chassis every 1 to 2
seconds and/or a high-pitched beeping sound at roughly the same rate of
repetition, as the hard drive attempts to get the platters to spin.

To Deal with Each of these Hard Drive Failure Causes in Turn

Electrical Damage to the PCB Causing Hard Drive Failure

This will typically take one of two forms. Where there has been a
voltage spike or some other problem with the power supply to the hard
drive itself then typically there will be blackened or obviously damaged
components on the PCB. You will often find that this damage presents
itself as a short-circuit to the computer’s power supply unit and
consequently when you switch the computer on it will immediately switch
itself off again (sometimes accompanied by an entertaining sound and
light show of bangs and sparks).
Alternatively you may find that your computer remains switched on but
there is no sign of life at all from your hard drive. In these
circumstances it is more likely that the chip on the PCB which controls
the data platter motor has suffered damage. Where this is the case you
will commonly find that the motor control chip gets very hot when power
is applied.
In terms of mitigating the hard drive failure and regaining access to
your data, there is not much which can be safely done without expert
intervention. Unfortunately buying an identical printed circuit board
will almost certainly not regain access to your drive. The reason for
this is that there is firmware information stored on each PCB which is
unique to that individual hard drive. It will be necessary not only to
obtain an identical PCB but also access to the specialised equipment
which will allow the transfer of this firmware from the original to the
donor PCB.

Hard Drive Failure through Seizure of the Data Platter Motor

The data platters inside the hard drive sit on a spindle which is
rotated by a motor built-in to the chassis housing. This motor is in
turn controlled by the motor control chip on the PCB referred to in the
previous section. The bearings of this motor are especially vulnerable
to impact damage. One of the most common outcomes of an external hard
drive being dropped is the seizure of this motor. Once these bearings
have become seized the platters cannot be spun and then of course there
can be no access to the data on the platters.
Where this has happened, the usual data recovery response is to carry
out what is commonly referred to as a “platter swap”. In this procedure
a closely matching hard drive is acquired, the platters are physically
moved from the seized hard drive to the donor drive along with the
read/write head assembly and the printed circuit board. The success of
this procedure will often depend upon the severity of the impact that
originally resulted in the drive becoming seized.

Hard Drive Failure When the Read/Write Heads Have Become Stuck to the Platters

This particular form of failure is much more commonly found in the
laptop sized (2.5”) form of hard drive although it is not entirely
unknown among the desktop (3.5”) drives.

In a properly functioning drive the heads will return to a parking
area when the drive itself is not in use. Sometimes this will be a set
of ramps off to one side of the platters alternatively it may be an area
of the platters themselves close to the centre (often referred to as a
landing zone). However for this particular form of hard drive failure
the heads do not return to their parking area but instead crash into the
data area of the platters themselves and literally become stuck there.
They then prevent the data platters from spinning up when power is
subsequently applied. Usually a slight pulse can be felt as the platters
attempt to free themselves of their heads.